# Founder Feature: Marc Brown of ONOIN

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739/founder-feature-marc-brown-of-onoin
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739/founder-feature-marc-brown-of-onoin.md
Podcast: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739)
Published: 2026-05-15T07:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/db48d4ba
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/pdst.fm/e/media.transistor.fm/db48d4ba/d00de403.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-startup-cpg-podcast-1235739/episodes/founder-feature-marc-brown-of-onoin
Duration seconds: 1839

## Resource

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Marc Brown, founder of ONOIN — a line of shelf-stable, pre-chopped and flavored onions in 100% olive oil designed to save you time and tears in the kitchen. ONOIN comes in four flavors — original, garlic and herb, jalapeño lime, and ginger and lemongrass — and is designed to go on or in anything, from eggs to meatballs to savory oatmeal bowls. Marc is a food scientist with a master's degree from Drexel University and a seriously stacked background: R&D and industrialization at Danone, Head of R&D as employee #8 at Clio Snacks, and R&D and contract manufacturing work at Hain Celestial. He came to founding ONOIN with a rare 360-degree view of the food industry — from bench science to co-manufacturer negotiations to retailer conversations — and shares hard-won lessons throughout this conversation. Together, Caitlin and Marc dig into why chopped onions in a jar hadn't been done before (and why it should have been), the origin story of the ONOIN name (credit goes to his brother-in-law at a backyard grill), and what makes a co-manufacturer relationship truly work. Marc breaks down the three-part pricing transparency framework every brand should demand from their co-man — raw, pack, and toll — and explains why trust and belief in your vision are just as important as the contract. They also get into the realities of early-stage distribution, how to build a velocity story with the right retail partners, and why knowing your product well enough to tell a buyer exactly why they need it on the shelf is non-negotiable. Listen in as they cover: How a graduate school innovation exercise sparked the idea for ONOIN Why shelf-stable pre-chopped onions solve a problem that fresh never fully could…

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## Transcript

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